Page 39 of The Alpha Wolf's Pregnant Bride

I’ll live out the rest of my life exactly the way it is, leading the pack as their Alpha until I’ve retired to hand Moon Shine to the most capable male in the pack. The Rudolph name will go down in history.

It’s not like any of it matters once I’m gone.

“You won’t change your mind?” Mother asks when her laughter subsides.

A heavy-hearted sigh falls from my lips as I straighten up. “I’m quite content as is, Mother. I won’t change my mind.”

Mother nods, the sadness in her eyes compelling me to round the table and press a kiss on her cheek.

“Don’t wait up for me,” I chuckle as I head to the back door.

“I’m too old for that!” Mother calls back just before I step outside.

Greeted by the cool Autumn breeze outside, I take a deep breath as I mentally prepare for the night ahead. Taking over Jarrod’s shift tonight is the only way I can prove to myself that I feel nothing for Cassandra.

Apart from the obvious resentment that’s been building up since the moment she stepped foot back in Mysthaven. Why? Why does she plague me so? Why can’t I stand to be around her while I’m unable to be away from her?

“Urgh…” I groan, shoving my hands into my pockets as I cross the gravel road leading toward the forest. Reluctantly shifting into wolf form, my paws feel leaden and heavy as I drag myself forward.

It’s only an instinctive need to hunt that rumbles in the pit of my belly, and it has me looking forward to joining tonight’s patrol group near the valley. From back here, I see the grouphuddled near the ravine, their mind links fine-tuning in my mind and becoming clearer.

“...Jarrod’s not joining us,”Dante informs the group.

“I heard he has a date tonight,”Hunter, a younger patrol wolf, snickers.

Was everyone aware of this except me? Thanks to my overworked mind and a particular she-wolf who wouldn’t leave my thoughts alone, I was the only one left in the dark.

It’s that very same she-wolf who glances over her furry shoulder, round brown eyes meeting mine and widening with sudden alertness.

“We should split up,”Cassandra tells the group.

“As much as I like it when you take charge, Cass…”Dante begins, and my blood begins to boil enough to set me into a quicker jog.

“... I think we all need to hunt.”

“Yes, of course.”Cassandra dips her head just as I arrive.

She barely looks my way when I stand beside her, giving me reason to believe that she wanted to disperse to avoid me. Now that we have to hunt, she won’t have a choice but to be around me.

“Cassie is right…” I relent, hearing her quick intake of breath beside me as if I’ve just surprised her by agreeing to what she’s said.

Ever since she returned, we’ve been in disagreement about a lot of things.

“...We should split up. We can’t leave the perimeter unattended. But we can hunt in groups.”

Dante nods his wolf head. “We’ll take the first watch, Alpha. You should hunt before any of us do.”

Acknowledging my precedence over the pack refuels my dwindling resolve and has me standing tall and proud in wolf form. It’s a feeling that had been slipping through my fingers because of everything that’s been going on with Cassandra.

Or everything that’snotbeen going on…My inner wolf mocks. I quickly flit my eyes around to make sure that no one heard that. Thankful when I find their heads bent respectfully, I clear my mental throat and turn to Cassandra.

“You will join me, Cassandra.”

She lifts her head, the fur between her eyes gathered as if she’s frowning. A slight squeak enters my mind, but that’s the only sound she makes when her eyes flick over to the others, and she remembers that we’re not alone.

Thank Goddess, she doesn’t try to defy me in front of the others. I wait for the others to cross over the ravine before turning toward the mountain. As I lead the way forward, Cassandra follows me without a word.

The dense silence hanging like a dark cloud over our heads feels like it weighs down on my shoulders. I know that there’s so much left unsaid between us, but I’m riding on the relief I feel by being near her.

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